The press have only themselves to blame, Simples!

For over 300 years our press was free, self-regulated but overall it operated with honesty and integrity. However in the past few years many innocent people were wronged and decent lives were turned upside down to break sensational stories. That was unjust and in some cases even criminal. And while we already have in place the laws (both hacking and defamation are against the law) to protect the innocent, people weren’t properly protected.

The Hacking scandal showed how far and deep the whole business of getting personal information goes. It exposed the extent to which some papers will go to get what they want. These papers, in their blind hunger for sensationalism, filling column inches and selling millions of copies, stepped on some very big fat toes, and in return they showed they too have deep far reaching pockets plus the ability to campaign and exact their revenge – by regulating and to some extent muzzling the press.

Strangely though, unless I am missing something somewhere, after months of Leveson hearings, spending millions of public money, celebrities and ordinary people parading in and out of hearings – it seems we are more or less where we began with very little change. To some it might appear as if Hacked Off got what they wanted with the Royal Charter and some restricting clauses, but more are left wondering besides bringing it all out in the open what actually changed?

Either way the press is unhappy. Some members of the media have already stated they will not sign up to the charter, which in my opinion is a triumph in itself. Isn’t having a choice and being able to say no without any adverse consequences in itself liberty of expression? Then where is the change? And here is where many, me included, are extremely confused by the whole thing.

Last night Iain Dale did not hold back on his blog. He was upset because due to new guidelines some bloggers can become targeted and forced to clamp down in fear of prosecution by people who do not like what they print. Read it HERE he explains it much better. I see why some might want to gag certain bloggers. In the past, many stories, especially political ones, broke in the blogosphere and went viral before the press got to them. That can be very upsetting to some.

Yesterday afternoon, in a tweet Tim Montgomerie hinted to an unhappy Cameron in the House of Commons.

I think the tone and body language of Clegg and Miliband versus Cameron makes it clear who is happier with this #Leveson deal.

— Tim Montgomerie (@TimMontgomerie) March 18, 2013

I understand why that might be. Most of us, on the right, are liberal thinkers and truly believe a free press is a healthy press and we are disappointed and concerned about what will happen to the British press. We don’t think it’s fitting to have legislators who themselves can sometime come under questioning, either enact rules or oversee the press. Just as we don’t think Hacked Off, a disaffected pressure group with personal interest should dictate how the press is regulated or who should supervise it.

But we must remember that we are here because the press misbehaved. And did not show it can manage or recognise when things wrong to appropriately self-punish. The existing regulatory body showed it cannot do justice to innocent victims who cannot go after the press in the same way some backers of Hacked off can and did. We know Hacked Off is using the Macanns, the Dowlers and Christopher Jefferies to make their point, when the real people behind the campaign are Hugh Grant, the Goldsmiths and the deep pocketed donors who simply think ‘how dare they’….. Nonetheless and sadly, it was the media’s own doing that got us here in the first place.

But on a positive note, recently the papers have behaved better. In that they printed apologies faster and on the same pages the offending articles occurred, on the other hand, it’s a case of too little too late. As an optimist, I believe they can use their recent good behavior to show they have changed and attempt to lessen and alter some of the control lefties and Hacked Off want to impose on them. It might be challenging but it’s worthwhile one to peruse. Going back to Tim’s tweet, I feel that is what made Cameron less chipper than Clegg and Miliband yesterday in the House of Commons.

As for bloggers who feel they have been dropped in it, I say blame the press but at the same time fight your corner.